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Valerie Mpundu
Harare-based writer Silaji Saidi (25) is slowly breaking out of his shell and finding ground and rhythm since his first fantasy write up in 2016.
Inspired by Harry Potter movie franchises, he began on short fantasy writings and short novels shared exclusively between family members.
In an interview, the writer who went into hibernation for two years said it was a moment and time to self reflect.
“I had this force driving me in 2018 and poetry was all I could eat, sleep and drink,” he said.
“The itch increasingly got worse I scratched it off . . . “
“Where I come from, we were taught that, a reflection of oneself being the good, the bad and the ugly complemented with a daily reminisce of life in the ghetto.”
Saidi managed to unlock his potential, self publishing his works in soft and hardcopy on limited edition as he still preferred staying in the shadows, becoming more of a ghost writer.
His last publication was in 2022, furnished with a compilation of works from other poets.
“I still have a lot of unpublished work, held down by the surge of social media.
“Nowadays, readers are not interested in hardcopies, rather much of online reading.”
“It takes willpower and determination as a writer to continue during such times,” he stressed.
Saidi’s poetry resonates with everyday life and is suitable for every audience.
However he reckons there is need to bridge the gap in the arts industry as far as writers are concerned.
“There is greater ground to be covered.
“What has been done for writers is merely scratching the surface and they is a dire recommendation to address that.”
“Nothing has been done to cover writers. It is tedious. In most cases linked people get the exposure and recognition. The question is how and when I might have my own answer, but what does the industry say?” he said.
Saidi who still writes poetry bemoaned the excessive use of social media to have been over shadowing traditional ways of writing.
“It seems our kind of work is old school and expired. People are no longer interested in reading any more, be it in hard or soft copy.
Online Reporter